Cortico-brainstem mechanisms of biased perceptual decision-making in the context of pain

Perceptual decision-making is commonly studied using stimuli with different physical properties but of comparable affective value. Here, we investigate neural processes underlying human perceptual decisions in the affectively rich domain of pain using a drift-diffusion model in combination with a probabilistic cueing paradigm. This allowed us to characterize a novel role for the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), whose anticipatory responses reflecting a decision bias were dependent on the affective value of the stimulus. During intense noxious stimulation, these model-based anticipatory DLPFC responses were linked to an engagement of the periaqueductal gray (PAG), a midbrain region implicated in defensive responses including analgesia. Complementing these findings on biased decision-making, the model parameter reflecting sensory processing predicted subcortical responses (in amygdala and PAG) when expectations were violated. Our findings highlight the importance of taking a broader perspective on perceptual decisions and link decisions about pain with subcortical circuitry implicated in endogenous pain modulation

Non-Locality and Theories of Causation

The aim of the paper is to investigate the characterization of an unambiguous notion of causation linking single space-llike separated events in EPR-Bell frameworks. This issue is investigated in ordinary quantum mechanics, with some hints to no collapse formulations of the theory such as Bohmian mechanics.Comment: Presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Modality, Probability and Bell's Theorems, Cracow, Poland, August 19-23, 200

Human breast tissue cancer diagnosis by Raman spectroscopy

Abstract. Differences between Raman spectra of normal, malignant and benign tissues have been recorded and analyzed as a method for the early detection of cancer. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the most statistically reliable research (67 patients) on Raman spectroscopy-based diagnosis of breast cancers among the world women population. The paper demonstrates that Raman spectroscopy is a promising new tool for real-time diagnosis of tissue abnormalities

Classical interventions in quantum systems. I. The measuring process

The measuring process is an external intervention in the dynamics of a quantum system. It involves a unitary interaction of that system with a measuring apparatus, a further interaction of both with an unknown environment causing decoherence, and then the deletion of a subsystem. This description of the measuring process is a substantial generalization of current models in quantum measurement theory. In particular, no ancilla is needed. The final result is represented by a completely positive map of the quantum state $\rho$ (possibly with a change of the dimensions of $\rho$). A continuous limit of the above process leads to Lindblad's equation for the quantum dynamical semigroup.Comment: Final version, 14 pages LaTe

Czerniaki skóry - zasady postępowania diagnostyczno-terapeutycznego

Excisional biopsy of suspicious melanomatous skin lesions likely to be diagnosed as early melanomas is crucial in establishing diagnosis and prognostic factors. Early diagnosis and surgical removal of cutaneous melanoma not only improves patients’ prognosis, but it is also associated with approximately 90% likelihood of cure. Next steps in the therapeutical management of cutaneous melanoma following excisional biopsy are radical scar excision with adequate margins and sentinel lymph node biopsy. Radical lymph node dissection is recommended in case of regional lymph node metastases. High-risk patients should be enrolled into prospective clinical trials on adjuvant therapy. The treatment of melanoma patients with distant metastases is of limited value. Long-term survival is confined to selected group of patients (metastases to extra-regional nodes, subcutaneous tissue and lungs). The benefits of immunotherapy/immunochemotherapy as compared to dacarbazine monotherapy have not been proven. Patients with metastatic disease should be treated within the frame of clinical trials.Dla rozpoznawania i ustalenia najważniejszych czynników rokowniczych podstawowe znaczenie ma biopsja wycinająca podejrzanych zmian barwnikowych skóry, które mogą być wczesnymi czerniakami. Wczesne rozpoznanie i chirurgiczne usunięcie czerniaka nie tylko poprawia rokowanie, ale daje szansę wyleczenia u około 90% chorych. Kolejne etapy postępowania terapeutycznego obejmują kwalifikację chorych do radykalnego wycięcia blizny po biopsji wycinającej z właściwymi marginesami oraz wykonania biopsji węzła wartowniczego. W przypadku przerzutów do regionalnych węzłów chłonnych postępowaniem z wyboru jest wykonanie radykalnej limfadenektomii. Zaleca się włączanie chorych na czerniaki skóry o wysokim ryzyku nawrotu do prospektywnych badań klinicznych nad leczeniem uzupełniającym. Leczenie chorych z przerzutami ma obecnie bardzo ograniczoną wartość. Długoletnie przeżycia dotyczą niewielu chorych (przerzuty w pozaregionalnych węzłach chłonnych, tkance podskórnej lub płucach). Nie udowodniono przewagi immunoterapii lub immunochemioterapii nad monoterapią z zastosowaniem dakarbazyny. U chorych w stadium uogólnienia najwłaściwsze jest stosowanie leczenia w ramach klinicznych badań

The Genomic Distribution and Function of Histone Variant HTZ-1 during C. elegans Embryogenesis

In all eukaryotes, histone variants are incorporated into a subset of nucleosomes to create functionally specialized regions of chromatin. One such variant, H2A.Z, replaces histone H2A and is required for development and viability in all animals tested to date. However, the function of H2A.Z in development remains unclear. Here, we use ChIP-chip, genetic mutation, RNAi, and immunofluorescence microscopy to interrogate the function of H2A.Z (HTZ-1) during embryogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans, a key model of metazoan development. We find that HTZ-1 is expressed in every cell of the developing embryo and is essential for normal development. The sites of HTZ-1 incorporation during embryogenesis reveal a genome wrought by developmental processes. HTZ-1 is incorporated upstream of 23% of C. elegans genes. While these genes tend to be required for development and occupied by RNA polymerase II, HTZ-1 incorporation does not specify a stereotypic transcription program. The data also provide evidence for unexpectedly widespread independent regulation of genes within operons during development; in 37% of operons, HTZ-1 is incorporated upstream of internally encoded genes. Fewer sites of HTZ-1 incorporation occur on the X chromosome relative to autosomes, which our data suggest is due to a paucity of developmentally important genes on X, rather than a direct function for HTZ-1 in dosage compensation. Our experiments indicate that HTZ-1 functions in establishing or maintaining an essential chromatin state at promoters regulated dynamically during C. elegans embryogenesis

Transient Reversal of Episome Silencing Precedes VP16-Dependent Transcription during Reactivation of Latent HSV-1 in Neurons

Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) establishes latency in peripheral neurons, creating a permanent source of recurrent infections. The latent genome is assembled into chromatin and lytic cycle genes are silenced. Processes that orchestrate reentry into productive replication (reactivation) remain poorly understood. We have used latently infected cultures of primary superior cervical ganglion (SCG) sympathetic neurons to profile viral gene expression following a defined reactivation stimulus. Lytic genes are transcribed in two distinct phases, differing in their reliance on protein synthesis, viral DNA replication and the essential initiator protein VP16. The first phase does not require viral proteins and has the appearance of a transient, widespread de-repression of the previously silent lytic genes. This allows synthesis of viral regulatory proteins including VP16, which accumulate in the cytoplasm of the host neuron. During the second phase, VP16 and its cellular cofactor HCF-1, which is also predominantly cytoplasmic, concentrate in the nucleus where they assemble an activator complex on viral promoters. The transactivation function supplied by VP16 promotes increased viral lytic gene transcription leading to the onset of genome amplification and the production of infectious viral particles. Thus regulated localization of de novo synthesized VP16 is likely to be a critical determinant of HSV-1 reactivation in sympathetic neurons

Special cases : moons, rings, comets, trojans

Non-planetary bodies provide valuable insight into our current under- standing of planetary formation and evolution. Although these objects are challeng- ing to detect and characterize, the potential information to be drawn from them has motivated various searches through a number of techniques. Here, we briefly review the current status in the search of moons, rings, comets, and trojans in exoplanet systems and suggest what future discoveries may occur in the near future.Comment: Invited review (status August 2017